Concerns Arise Over FEMA’s Future Amid Mullin’s DHS Nomination
The confirmation hearing for Markwayne Mullin, President Trump's nominee to replace Kristi Noem as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has generated apprehension among disaster management officials and experts regarding the future direction of the primary U.S. disaster response agency.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), overseen by DHS, coordinates federal responses to disasters including hurricanes, floods, and wildfires.
“I’d welcome real meaningful reform talks, but I do not get warm fuzzies that’s what we are going to get,” one longtime FEMA manager, who requested anonymity, told .
“Mullin could be a step up from Noem, but that’s not exactly saying much.”
Mullin’s Position on FEMA Restructuring
During the hearing, Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, addressed senators’ inquiries about Noem’s controversial FEMA overhaul, including her proposal to eliminate the agency.
He stated that FEMA should be “restructured, not eliminated,” and committed to rescinding Noem’s policy of personally reviewing all FEMA expenditures exceeding $100,000.
“That’s called micromanaging,” he said. “I’m not a micromanager.”
Throughout Trump’s second term, the Senate has yet to confirm a permanent FEMA leader. Responding to New Jersey Senator Andy Kim’s questions, Mullin indicated he would appoint a qualified head for the agency.
“We’re already looking at some in the case we do get confirmed,” he said. “I’m going to find somebody that is capable of doing the job.”
Michael Coen, former FEMA chief of staff under the Obama and Biden administrations, described these statements as positive but remained cautious about Mullin’s impact on disaster preparedness.
“A nominee for FEMA and the reduction of DHS micromanagement of FEMA will minimize the risk of our federal government not being prepared for extreme weather and other significant risks,” Coen said.
“The nation’s emergency management community and FEMA employees will await his actions after confirmation.”
Staffing Cuts and Workforce Concerns
Over the past year, Noem has faced extensive criticism for reducing FEMA’s staff. Mullin did not commit to reversing these cuts, suggesting that some agencies’ workforces have become “very bloated” in recent years.
When pressed by Senator Kim on whether FEMA is overstaffed, Mullin declined to provide a definitive answer.
“I can’t answer that,” he said. “When I get there, we’ll be adequately staffed to respond to our nation’s disasters.”
The suggestion that FEMA might be overstaffed unsettled the anonymous FEMA manager. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan federal audit agency, highlighted FEMA’s “limited workforce capacity” as a factor undermining its ability to protect the nation from disasters.
“FEMA lost 10% of its workforce in the first half of 2025 when we were already short staffed, and a headcount doesn’t really capture the damage of losing senior level staff that had years of knowledge and experience that is not easily replaced,” the manager noted.
“That knowledge is gone. We cannot hire our way back to that.”
Mullin’s Record on Climate and Disaster Preparedness
Mullin’s history concerning the climate crisis and disaster preparedness has raised concerns among environmentalists and experts about his impending confirmation, scheduled for Thursday. Although Oklahoma Senator James Lankford praised Mullin’s “great experience” in disaster management during Wednesday’s hearing, critics emphasize that Mullin has never served on either the House or Senate homeland security committees.
As recently as 2019, Mullin publicly expressed skepticism about the global climate crisis, despite scientific consensus affirming its existence. He was not questioned about these statements during the hearing.
Similar to Noem, Mullin has advocated for disaster response to be led by U.S. states rather than the federal agency, even if FEMA maintains a role in disaster preparedness. On Wednesday, he stated that FEMA “was never designed to be the first responder.”
“FEMA was designed to be the assistance to the states when the disaster reaches certain levels,” he said.
The anonymous FEMA manager interpreted this as a sign that Mullin either lacks understanding of emergency management or is echoing White House rhetoric.
“He either doesn’t understand how emergency management works, which he should given he’s a Senator from Oklahoma, or he’s just parroting the narrative from the White House.”
“The foundation of American emergency management is already locally led, state managed, federally supported,” the person added.
“FEMA only comes in when a state or tribe asks … We certainly don’t show up uninvited.”
Criticism Over Disaster Relief Votes
Mullin has also faced criticism for opposing disaster relief measures, including voting against a 2024 attempt to replenish FEMA’s disaster relief fund. Although he acknowledged at the hearing that FEMA “saw a lot of problems” following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, he has repeatedly voted against aid packages for Sandy survivors, including opposing a $60.2 billion aid package.
A second longtime FEMA official, who also requested anonymity, expressed doubt about Mullin’s understanding of the issues related to the Sandy response.
“I would hope that anyone coming in would have a rudimentary understanding that many reforms have been passed over the last 20 years since Sandy,” the official said.
“If we were serious about those fixes, the head of DHS would be giving us more support to implement them and improve, not just say we’ve failed.”
The official noted that although Mullin “said some things that sounded good in front of the committee,” they remain uncertain about the direction his tenure would take.
“I didn’t really [hear any] articulation of any vision for FEMA overall,” the person said.
